[133] It concentrates about the 75 % of banking operations in the country. Madrid is also home to another international cultural institution, the Instituto Cervantes, whose task is the promotion and teaching of the Spanish language as well as the dissemination of the culture of Spain and Hispanic America. Despite often being labelled as "having no tradition" by foreigners,[218] the Carnival was popular in Madrid already in the 16th century. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), surpassed only by Berlin, and its monocentric metropolitan area is the second-largest in the EU, surpassed only by Paris. [3] The model of repopulation should have probably been that of the Limitanei, characteristic of the borderlands. [108][109], "In the early years of this century, Madrid was a very ugly town, with few architectural monuments, with horrible housing. Some of the most important ones were the Viaje de Amaniel [es] (1610–1621, sponsored by the Crown), the Viaje de Fuente Castellana [es] (1613–1620) and Abroñigal Alto [es]/Abroñigal Bajo [es] (1617–1630), sponsored by the City Council. Antonio Palacios built a series of buildings inspired by the Viennese Secession, such as the Palace of Communication, the Círculo de Bellas Artes, and the Río de La Plata Bank (now Instituto Cervantes). Other writers born in Madrid in later centuries have been Leandro Fernandez de Moratín, Mariano José de Larra, Jose de Echegaray (Nobel Prize in Literature), Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Dámaso Alonso, Enrique Jardiel Poncela and Pedro Salinas. [18][19] It hosts the head offices of the vast majority of major Spanish companies, such as Telefónica, IAG or Repsol. [63] During this time, major construction projects were undertaken, including the northern extension of the Paseo de la Castellana, one of Madrid's major thoroughfares. Best known is the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three major museums: the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, and the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum. [9] The Jewish community was probably smaller in number than the mudéjar one, standing out as physicians up until their expulsion. [186], Other generic dishes commonly accepted as part of the Madrilenian cuisine include the potaje, the sopa de ajo (Garlic soup), the Spanish omelette, the besugo a la madrileña [es] (bream), caracoles a la madrileña [es] (snails, sp. Madrid derives almost 73.5 percent of its water supply from dams and reservoirs built on the Lozoya River, such as the El Atazar Dam. It also hosts major international regulators and promoters of the Spanish language: the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the Instituto Cervantes and the Foundation of Urgent Spanish (Fundéu BBVA). The 1979 municipal election brought Madrid's first democratic mayor since the Second Republic. -The present location of Madrid—in Spain’s center—was established in 1083 by King Alfonso I. Details: • Material Zamac • Official Licensed Product • Brand Real Madrid • 70x130x15mm The city was invaded on 24 May 1823 by a French army—the so-called Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis—called to intervene to restore the absolutism of Ferdinand that the latter had been deprived from during the 1820–1823 trienio liberal. The smaller (and older) Cuatro Vientos Airport has a dual military-civilian use and hosts several aviation schools. The mosque was reconsecrated as the church of the Virgin of Almudena (almudin, the garrison's granary). It is the largest in Spain and the third largest in the European Union.[9][10][11]. It is the result of the merge of different Technical Schools of Engineering. Located next to the Royal Palace and the Almudena, Patrimonio Nacional has tentatively scheduled its opening for 2021. The Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; UPM), is the top technical university in Spain. The Reina Sofía also hosts a free-access art library. There are now 2,900 kilometres (1,800 miles) of AVE track, connecting Madrid with 17 provincial capitals, and further lines are under construction.[139]:72–75. "El Madrid Medieval (Medieval Madrid). State Education in Spain is free, and compulsory from 6 to 16 years. [citation needed] In 1202, Alfonso VIII gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council,[42] which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III. The "Barrio de las Letras" (Quarter of Letters) owes its name to the intense literary activity developed over the 16th and 17th centuries. The fighting lasted for hours and is reflected in Goya's painting, The Second of May 1808, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes. Las Ventas Bullring was built, as the Market of San Miguel (Cast-Iron style). [103], During the mandate as Mayor of José María Álvarez del Manzano construction of traffic tunnels below the city proliferated.[104]. The Auditorio Nacional de Música [240], In terms of longer-distance transport, Madrid is the central node of the system of autovías, giving the city direct fast road links with most parts of Spain and with France and Portugal. Chueca is known as gay quarter, comparable to The Castro district in San Francisco. 10 As of 2018, the city has 793 hotels, 85,418 hotel places and 43,816 hotel rooms.[147]p. According to Eurostat, the "metropolitan region" of Madrid has a population of slightly more than 6.271 million people[106] covering an area of 4,609.7 square kilometres (1,780 sq mi). [201] is the main venue for classical music concerts in Madrid. Some of its attributions are: fiscal matters, the election and deposition of the mayor, the approval and modification of decrees and regulations, the approval of budgets, the agreements related to the limits and alteration of the municipal term, the services management, the participation in supramunicipal organisations, etc.[107]. Together with RTVE, Atresmedia and Mediaset account for nearly the 80% of share of generalist TV.[160]. Madrid is administratively divided into 21 districts, which are further subdivided into 131 neighbourhoods (barrios): Madrid is the capital of the Community of Madrid. Madrid is a good destination for business schools and a city much desired by foreign students. [166], The Royal Palace of Madrid, a massive building characterised by its luxurious rooms, houses rich collections of armours and weapons, as well as the most comprehensive collection of Stradivarius in the world. It is the busiest Spanish road, famous for its traffic jams. [118] Iconic examples of this period include the Ministry of the Air (a case of herrerian revival) and the Edificio España (presented as the tallest building in Europe when it was inaugurated in 1953). After it became the capital of Spain in the 16th century, Madrid was more a centre of consumption than of production or trade. In addition, Madrid is one of the most preferred tourist destinations in Europe. [28] The ecclesial hierarchy, featuring a nobiliary extraction, shared the with the nobility the echelon of the Madrilenian society. Among those aged 16–24, the unemployment rate was 39.6%. Under Charles III (1716–1788) that Madrid became a truly modern city. Capt. New industries were mostly focused in book publishing, construction and low-tech sectors. In a crescendo of protests, the night of 10 April 2,000 protesters clashed against the Civil Guard. [155][156][157][158] As of 2019, the film and television industry in Madrid employs 19,000 people (44% of people in Spain working in this industry). Madrid has hosted five European Cup/Champions League finals at the Bernabéu, and the 2019 final was played at the Metropolitano. Later known as Real Madrid, … Regarding international competitions, the city hosted the final matches for the 1986 and 2014 FIBA World Cups and the EuroBasket 2007, both held at the Palacio de Deportes. The royal court attracted many of Spain's leading artists and writers to Madrid, including Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Velázquez during the so-called cultural Siglo de Oro. The headquarters of the Higher Office of Police of Madrid (Jefatura Superior de Policía de Madrid), the peripheral branch of the National Police Corps with jurisdiction over the region also lies on Madrid. Madrid, founded more than one thousand years ago, was proclaimed official capital of the Kingdom of Spain in 1561, when Felipe II transferred the Court to this city. Many of them patiently wait in line to get a table at some of the better restaurants and tapas bars in the cosmopolitan neighborhood. Its constitution as a company came on the 6 th of March 1902, with a board of directors presided by Juan Padrós. [139]:351–2 The public sector employs 18.1% of all employees. The City Council (Ayuntamiento de Madrid) is the body responsible for the government and administration of the municipality. [13] The mayor is José Luis Martínez-Almeida from the People's Party. As of 2019[update], it has 302 stations. [45] After the 1833 administrative reforms for the country devised by Javier de Burgos (including the configuration of the current province of Madrid), Madrid was to become the capital of the new Liberal state. Thus, Ferdinand VII returned to a city that had been occupied by Murat.[39]. Arturo Soria conceived the linear city and built the first few kilometres of the road that bears his name, which embodies the idea. Madrid's Restaurante Botín was founded in 1725 and is the oldest restaurant in the world. Other urban parks are the Parque de El Capricho, the Parque Juan Carlos I (both in northeast Madrid), Madrid Río, the Enrique Tierno Galván Park [es], the San Isidro Park [es] as well as gardens suchs as the Campo del Moro (opened to the public in 1978)[123] and the Sabatini Gardens (opened to the public in 1931)[123] near the Royal Palace. The annexed municipalities were Chamartín de la Rosa (5 June 1948), Carabanchel Alto (29 April 1948), Carabanchel Bajo (29 April 1948), Canillas (30 March 1950), Canillejas (30 March 1950), Hortaleza (31 March 1950), Barajas (31 March 1950), Vallecas (22 December 1950), El Pardo (27 March 1951), Vicálvaro (20 October 1951), Fuencarral (20 October 1951) Aravaca (20 October 1951) and Villaverde (31 July 1954). Madrid enjoyed significant changes during the 18th century, when city gates, bridges and new buildings gave it a new appearance. With about 500 businesses aimed toward the LGBT community, Madrid has become a “Gateway of Diversity”.[215].